As 19th-century revolutionary figures go, Vera Zasulich does not always spring to mind or roll off the tongue.
Ana Siljak would like to change that.
In her recently released book, Angel of Vengeance: The Girl Who Shot The Governor of St. Petersburg and Sparked An Age of Assassination, Siljak examines the life and times of Zasulich, a sort of “proto-terrorist.”
Siljak, the daughter-in-law of Waterford Superintendent of Schools Randall Collins, will sign copies of her book at Borders in Waterford Commons on April 10.
In 1880, Zasulich, a socialist with anti-imperial leanings, became incensed over the flogging of a political prisoner held in a St. Petersburg cell.
As a protest, Zasulich, who had always envisioned herself a martyr, shot the governor of the city in the face, killing him.
Zasulich later faced trial, and after gaining the sympathies of major literary figures of the age such as Henry James, Oscar Wilde, and Fyodor Dostoevsky, as well as the Imperial Russian equivalent of a high-powered lawyer, she was acquitted.
“The trial, like some of the trials that are on TV, became a kind of theater,” Siljak said.
In 2000, Siljak, a professor of Russian History at the prestigious Queen’s University in Toronto, read a magazine article about Zasulich and began research on a book that was originally going to focus on pre-revolutionary Russia.
Then Sept. 11, 2001, happened.
“The story changed for me then,” she said. “The book became more about terrorism.”
Siljak said Zasulich was the forerunner to a type of terrorism that became common in late 19th-century Europe and persists today.
“Obviously there are some differences with modern terrorism,” she said.
In her book, Siljak wanted to examine the psychology of not only Zasulich, but of terrorists in general.
Unlike some biographers who tend to sympathize with their subjects, Siljak said she did not end up romanticizing Zasulich.
“I tried to stay distant of that,” she said.
Siljak said, however, Angel of Vengeance is not a book for academics, as history buffs and especially fans of Russian literature should enjoy it.